Getting Started on SheBlogs: Preparing to Pitch PR Pros

With each promotional announcement on SheBlogs, we’ve tried to give you all of the tools and information you’ll need to write a post – from product information and link resources to stock images. We’ve also included PR contact information, to make it as easy as possible for you to directly reach out to the person responsible for the promotion for more information, interviews, or product samples.

Tips For Getting Started:

1. Writing your pitch: Be sure you include all of the necessary details that a PR person will need to know before setting you up with an interview or sending you a review sample. Give them your website’s URL, tell them about your readers and your blog’s focus, and give them as many statistics as you feel comfortable divulging. Also, be specific about your plans for the review sample: When are you going to publish your review? How are you going to go about reviewing the product?
2. If you plan on giving your sample away to a luck reader, or if you’d like to host a giveaway and receive a second product for that purpose, explain how that will work and what timeframe you’re looking at for turnaround. Remember – you’re not bound by contract to post on the specific date, but giving a PR person a timeframe will give them the confidence that they need to send away one of a limited number of product samples your way, and it will also save you the headache of repeated follow up emails asking about timing for your post.
3. Follow through. If you request a review sample and decide you’re not going to post (either because you had a bad experience with the product or decided that it wasn’t relevant), be sure to follow up with the PR pro and explain the circumstances. As a general rule, you should only request a product sample if you are seriously planning on reviewing it – remember that PR pros may only have 20 samples to give away, and by taking one that you don’t review, you’re not only hurting the PR pro (they’ll have to explain to their bosses why a sample was sent and there was no coverage), but you’re taking that sample away from another blogger who would have liked the opportunity to review it.
4. Follow up. We’re all incredibly busy with a number of responsibilities, but the fastest way to a PR pro’s heart is through a follow up email. Once you’ve posted, shooting a quick email to the PR pro with a link to your post will not only leave a good impression and save the PR pro the work of tracking your blog to find it, but it’s also a great way to get listed on a PR pro’s permanent list of contacts, ensuring that the next time his or her client has an announcement, you’ll be the first to know about it.
5. Keep your chin up. If you pitch a PR pro and the pro can’t send you a product sample, don’t take it personally. PR pros are under tremendous pressure from clients and employers to deliver maximum results with minimal spend. Sometimes they are given specific requirements as to traffic minimums for samples, e.g., “Only those blogs with 50,000 or more monthly uniques can receive a product sample,” or they have a boss who makes a final call on whether you’ll be on the yes list for the announcement’s giveaways. If you’re given a no (especially if it’s a friendly no), consider posting a short piece on the announcement anyway, and shooting that link to the PR pro. You’ll be doing him or her a favor, and that favor is likely to be returned in the future.